TABLE 11.
Prevalence of Self-Reported Tinnitus Among Canadians Aged 16 to 79 Years: Demographics, Duration of Occupational Noise Exposure, Hearing Protection Usage, “Blue Collar,” “White Collar” Workers
| Ever Experienced Tinnitus§ | Tinnitus When Quiet|| (Always, Often, Sometimes) | |||||||||||||||||
| 95% CI | 95% CI | |||||||||||||||||
| Characteristics | n | N | CV | % | SE % | From | To | CV | * | n | N | CV | % | SE % | From | To | CV | * |
| ’000 | ’000 | |||||||||||||||||
| Total | 1,654 | 11,539 | 43.2 | 1.8 | 39.3 | 47.2 | 568 | 3,881 | 72.0 | 3.1 | 64.7 | 78.3 | ||||||
| Demographic characteristics | ||||||||||||||||||
| Sex | ||||||||||||||||||
| Men | 857 | 6,319 | 47.6 | 2.7 | 41.8 | 53.5 | ‡ | 287 | 1,951 | 67.6 | 4.8 | 56.3 | 77.2 | |||||
| Women† | 797 | 5,220 | 38.8 | 1.8 | 35.0 | 42.8 | 281 | 1,930 | 77.0 | 3.1 | 69.5 | 83.1 | ||||||
| Age group | ||||||||||||||||||
| 16–29 years† | 468 | 3,398 | 52.9 | 2.7 | 46.9 | 58.8 | 117 | 1,044 | E | 68.5 | 6.4 | 53.2 | 80.6 | |||||
| 30–49 | 589 | 3,747 | 39.6 | 2.4 | 34.4 | 45.1 | ‡ | 147 | 726 | E | 53.5 | 6.1 | 40.2 | 66.3 | ||||
| 50–79 | 597 | 4,394 | 40.6 | 2.6 | 35.0 | 46.4 | ‡ | 304 | 2,111 | 84.1 | 2.6 | 77.4 | 89.1 | * | ||||
| Education (highest level in household) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Postsecondary or more† | 1,221 | 8,218 | 41.4 | 1.5 | 38.1 | 44.7 | 409 | 2,722 | 73.5 | 3.9 | 64.2 | 81.1 | ||||||
| Less than postsecondary | 375 | 2,855 | 48.6 | 3.5 | 41.1 | 56.2 | * | 141 | 998 | E | 66.5 | 5.6 | 53.3 | 77.5 | ||||
| Household income | ||||||||||||||||||
| <$50,000† | 641 | 3,835 | 41.0 | 2.3 | 36.0 | 46.3 | 246 | 1,414 | E | 73.0 | 4.7 | 61.4 | 82.1 | |||||
| $50,000 to <$100,000 | 553 | 4,376 | 48.4 | 3.1 | 41.6 | 55.3 | 191 | 1,681 | 79.3 | 4.3 | 68.1 | 87.2 | ||||||
| $100,000 or more | 460 | 3,328 | 39.9 | 2.7 | 34.2 | 45.9 | 131 | 787 | 58.9 | 6.3 | 44.6 | 71.8 | ||||||
| Occupational characteristics | ||||||||||||||||||
| Currently working in a noisy environment | ||||||||||||||||||
| Yes | 250 | 2,029 | 55.4 | 5.3 | 43.6 | 66.6 | * | 77 | 430 | E | 55.2 | 9.2 | 35.2 | 73.7 | E | |||
| No† | 1,404 | 9,510 | 41.3 | 2.0 | 37.0 | 45.7 | 491 | 3,451 | 74.8 | 3.5 | 66.3 | 81.8 | ||||||
| Ever worked in a noisy environment | ||||||||||||||||||
| Yes | 791 | 5,744 | 51.1 | 2.9 | 44.8 | 57.4 | ‡ | 291 | 1,959 | 75.1 | 4.5 | 64.0 | 83.7 | |||||
| No† | 863 | 5,795 | 37.4 | 2.3 | 32.5 | 42.7 | 277 | 1,922 | 69.0 | 5.1 | 56.8 | 79.0 | ||||||
| Time worked in noisy environment | ||||||||||||||||||
| <12 months | 202 | 1,259 | E | 47.0 | 5.0 | 36.2 | 58.1 | 54 | 278 | E | 70.1 | 8.0 | 50.3 | 84.4 | ||||
| 1 year to <5 years | 208 | 1,739 | 53.8 | 5.5 | 41.6 | 65.5 | 65 | 635 | E | 75.3 | 11.6 | 43.6 | 92.3 | |||||
| 5 years to <10 years | 114 | 970 | 53.7 | 7.0 | 38.4 | 68.4 | 40 | 261 | E | 68.1 | 13.1 | 36.1 | 89.0 | E | ||||
| 10 years or more† | 266 | 1,774 | 50.5 | 3.7 | 42.4 | 58.7 | 132 | 785 | E | 79.8 | 5.9 | 63.8 | 89.8 | |||||
| Used hearing protection at work | ||||||||||||||||||
| Always/often† | 268 | 2,274 | 53.7 | 4.1 | 44.6 | 62.6 | 90 | 653 | E | 70.2 | 6.3 | 54.8 | 82.1 | |||||
| Sometimes/rarely/never | 523 | 3,470 | 49.6 | 3.7 | 41.6 | 57.6 | 201 | 1,306 | 77.9 | 3.9 | 68.2 | 85.2 | ||||||
| Hearing protection required/used | ||||||||||||||||||
| Yes/yes | 191 | 1,675 | E | 53.2 | 4.8 | 42.7 | 63.5 | 60 | 525 | E | 69.0 | 7.4 | 50.9 | 82.7 | ||||
| Yes/no† | 64 | 449 | E | 55.8 | 11.6 | 31.0 | 78.0 | E | 24 | 208 | E | 83.7 | 10.8 | 47.2 | 96.7 | |||
| No/yes | 71 | 576 | E | 56.0 | 9.0 | 36.4 | 73.9 | F | 73.9 | 9.5 | 49.0 | 89.3 | ||||||
| No/no | 437 | 2,853 | 47.8 | 3.3 | 40.6 | 55.1 | 166 | 1,051 | 76.3 | 5.3 | 62.7 | 86.1 | ||||||
| Job category | ||||||||||||||||||
| White collar | 791 | 5,836 | 43.2 | 1.8 | 39.2 | 47.4 | 230 | 1,865 | 73.3 | 2.8 | 66.8 | 78.9 | ||||||
| Blue collar† | 210 | 1,472 | E | 42.4 | 5.7 | 30.7 | 55.1 | 60 | 244 | E | 48.9 | 13.1 | 23.3 | 75.1 | E | |||
E use with caution (coefficient of variation 16.6–33.3%).
F too unreliable to be published (coefficient of variation greater than 33.3%).
*Significantly different from estimate for reference category (P < 0.05).
†Reference category.
‡Significantly different from estimate for reference category (P < 0.01).
§Universe: all respondents aged 16–79 years.
||Universe: respondents who had tinnitus within the past month; “current tinnitus.”
Source: 2012/2013 Canadian Health Measures Survey (Cycle 3).